Got a call for upgrading to 5G SIM? STOP, Beware of this new scam in India

5G is all the rage these days among smartphone companies and even if you don’t want, operators will urge you to try 5G services at all cost. Unlike the transition from 3G to 4G that required a SIM card upgrade, operators such as Jio and Airtel have assured that there is minimal barrier in this transition. Sadly, not all customers know of this yet and scammers are making the most out of this lack of knowledge.

Based on the latest report from cybersecurity research firm Checkpoint, it is said that scammers are now calling users across India in a bid to upgrade their “4G SIM cards to 5G SIM cards”. It is said that the scammers call themselves telecom Customer Care Executives and they push users to “upgrade their 4G SIM cards”. Through this, they are able to leak all the personal information.

Upgrade to 5G scam in India!

In the process, the scammer asks for some key information from the users and once the victim is lured into giving it out, they obtain all the information. The scam is widely going on and police departments from any states have reported about the same. For example, Mumbai Police has made a tweet about the same. Similar tweets have also been made by the police from Pune, Gurugram and Hyderabad.

Some cases have also reported the scammers to ask for money for the upgrade to 5G SIM card.

Scammers are also resorting to SMS phishing, wherein they are sending SMS messages with dubious links. Once users click on this link and share all the necessary information for upgrading their SIM card, all their crucial information goes out and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

How to stay safe

- First and foremost, you should never share any kind of information with anyone, especially bank details and passwords.

- You should never share any kind of login OTP with anyone unknown on the phone.

- There is NO upgrade scheme for SIM cards to go to 5G. Do not fall for a 4G SIM to 5G SIM upgrade scheme. Your 4G SIM card can fetch you 5G services by default.